Bangor Boat Show Returns to the Cross Center This Weekend

 

It has been so long since Bangor held a boat show that my daughter is now a teenager!  

Way back in 2019, Hamlin's Marine blew the doors off the Cross Center and helped put 40 new families on the water that summer.  Our team had to go to the Way Back Machine (Youtube) to remember how to put on a boat show.  It's a really simple set up as you can see...

Hamlin's Marine can't wait to see you this weekend at the Boat Show.  This year there is plenty of inventory, outstanding financing, and big consumer rebates!  

 This is your opportunity to find the boat of your dreams from brands like Bennington, Godfrey, Hurricane, Stingray, Mastercraft, Weldcraft, & Alumacraft.

Eastern Maine Sportsmen's Show Returns After 3 Years

 

Weldcraft 240 Ocean King

Yesterday, Hamlin's Marine moved into the Eastern Maine Sportsmen's Show at the Field House on the University of Maine Campus in Orono, Maine.  Check out our team using every inch of the 12' overhead door:

Three years ago, over one hundred vendors had the doors shut in our faces when the world went into lockdown.  So, this show is going to be something very special.  For 82 years, this show has served as a rite of spring.  Now in 2023, I expect this particular event to be the best in the history of the show!

For me, the spring boat show season has been a mix of excitement, anxiety, and a straight up scavenger hunt to find all the equipment, personnel, and grit to pull off boat shows again.  March show season typically yields up to 100 boat sales for Hamlin's Marine.  This is not a sport for the faint of heart.  

The UMaine Field House will serve as our proving grounds for 2023, and we are ready for our customers, friends, & fishermen.  

This weekend will be the best time to pick up a deal on a fishing boat from Hamlin's Marine.  We are well stocked with used packages and holdover units that are priced thousands below 2023 prices.  

Unlike the last couple of years, buyers can get what they want now!  Get there early to take advantage of the very best deals on fishing packages from Alumacraft, G3, Weldcraft, Bennington & Godfrey.  These deals are the best of the best and will not last the weekend:

All of us at Hamlin's Marine look forward to getting you on the water in 2023!

2023 Chris-Craft 25 GT Launch Stuns at the Boston Boat Show

 

I'm writing this from my hotel room on the morning of the second day of the Boston Boat Show.  The view of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is very different from the view of the Penobscot river back home in Maine.  I love it all the same, as it marks the annual return of the boating season.  This year the streets are clear of snow, and the forecast today is sunny and 64 degrees!

My goal is to find a buyer this week for a very special boat, the Chris-Craft 25 GT Launch.  

I'm typically a Yamaha outboard guy, but this 6.2 L, 350 HP Mercruiser with the Selectable Exhaust option (Turn it off for quiet, stealthy power.  Or turn it on, and let the 8 cylinders roar and reverberate across a quiet cove.) makes for a nice alternative.

The 25 GT also has the comes with the new Sea Keeper Ride which is as described:

Sea Keeper Ride controllers are mounted to your boat's transom below the waterline.  Using custom, proprietary inertial sensing hardware and software, the system understands how the boat is behaving in all three axes and commands deployment of the rotary blades to counteract pitch, roll, and yaw.  As the blades are deployed, they create lift at the transom, managing the vessel's motion instantaneously.

If you understand that, you are likely a Mechanical Engineer or an Airline Pilot. 

To the layperson, Sea Keeper Ride eliminates a large part of the rocking, rolling, and pitching in rough water, busy inlets, or crossing wakes.  Say goodbye to Dramamine!

Enough of the physics lesson!  The Chris-Craft 25 GT is the most stunning and comfortable 25' runabout I've seen in many years.  The Almond interior, paired with the Metallic Portofino Blue painted hull will illuminate in the sun.  Nothing is common on this stunner.

Hope to see you in Boston.  Or if you happen to be lucky enough to be at the Miami Show, Andy & Hutch from Hamlin's Marine can give you a tour of the Chris-Craft booth. 

Summer is around the corner!

Edendriver Adds New Features For 2023

 

Puffin Team Members Eric, Richard, & Katie

An Edendriver boat is just as seaworthy as it is beautiful.  For the unfamiliar, Edendriver is a narrow-beamed 17' center console that features uncommon design features such as a tumblehome transom, molded spray rails, and a stem that is part Downeast & part Carolina.   

The team at Puffin Boat Company in Hampden, Maine is working on Hull #16, and we intend to build a dozen or so for model year 2023.  

New for 2023, we've flush mounted a Garmin 7" Multi Function Display that provides all Yamaha engine data, GPS, Sonar, and controls the Fusion Stereo.  Also on the dash is an induction phone charger, since nobody ever leaves shore without Instagram anymore.  

7" Garmin Multi Function Display

Also, for 2023 Edendriver is available with a Rough Water Package featuring a smoked windshield, stainless console grab bar, stern seat security rails, and forward split bow rails.  

Eric Test Fits the Console Grab Bar

If you are interested in building an Edendriver for your family, please visit us at Puffin Boat Company or schedule a factory visit.

Honda Re-Power Specials

 

Honda outboards are exceptionally quiet and reliable.  All Honda marine motors are backed by an industry-leading 5 year warranty.  

Today, many boaters are considering a re-power of their pontoon or favorite fishing boat rather than replacing the entire package.  

Hamlin's Marine has a few discounted re-power packages on Honda outboards available with aggressive financing rates as low as 4.99% APR.  

Here are the best offers of the fall.  The special pricing is installed pricing with standard new rigging and propeller:

Honda BF200DXDA with Intelligent Shift & Throttle (Digital)

Was: $28,355    Discount: $8360    Special: $19,995 + tax

* Honda financing available with approved credit

Honda BF150DXRA Re-Power

Was: $23,526    Discount: -$5531    Special: $17,995 + tax

* Honda financing available with approved credit

Honda BF90D5LRTA Re-Power

Was: $16,886    Discount: -$3615    Special: $13,271 + tax

* Honda financing available with approved credit

Honda BF75D4LRTA Re-Power

Was: $17,092    Discount: -$4615    Special: $12,477 + tax

* Honda financing available with approved credit

Contact us today through www.hamlinsmarina.com to secure your Honda deal today!

Hamlin's Marine & Jeanneau Boats @ Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) Next Week

 

Hamlin's Marine & Jeanneau Power Boats will be represented at  FLIBS next week from Wednesday the 26th through Sunday the 30th.

Hamlin's became a dealer for Jeanneau in the Fall of 2019, and since then Jeanneau has become the standard for coastal cruising and adventure on the Maine coast.  

Jeanneau has several series of boats to suit the modern Maine boater including the NC Weekender, NC Sport, and Leader.  Check out Jeremy Everett's walkthrough of the NC695 Sport...

Ft. Lauderdale will be the debut of the new DB43 model, which is sure to shake up the boating world.  DB Yachts will offer the next level of yachting for a Jeanneau owner.  Hamlin's Marine has been allocated one of only a handful of DB43s for 2023.  This vessel will set a new standard of luxury cruising for the Maine coast.  Check out these specifications:

DB Yachts will compete with the best of the best in North America.  High performance, comfort, and styling are unmatched.

Please let us know if you will be swinging by the Jeanneau booth in Ft. Lauderdale next week.  Email Jeremy @ jeverett@hamlinsmarina.com.  We'd love to see you!

 

Edendriver Returns for 2023

 

It's been 1 1/2 years since we built the last Edendriver at Puffin Boat Company.  The history of Edendriver reads like a novel rife with obsession, commitment, love, and pain.  The designer and original builder was Seph Limehouse.  His wife Leigh, shares the following about Seph and his legacy...

"Edendriver was designed by Seph Limehouse, a chief designer at Scout Boats in South Carolina, at his home in Johns Island. His passion was working with his hands. In addition to the Edendriver, Seph built a kayak, a flats boat, a sailboat, several tables, stools, our bed and our home. He spent a lot of time in our barn creating. I know he felt peace when he was working out there. Even with a chemo drip on his side, he would be in the barn — if not physically able to work, he would just sit or work on drawings.  He was an amazing man who cancer took from me way too early.  Thankfully he left me with his greatest creation ... our daughter Ellen." -- Leigh Limehouse

Hull #14 built in Maine is rolling off the line this week.  One of the most striking things about Edendriver is the tumblehome hull.  Tumblehome describes a hull that grows more narrow above the waterline which enhances lateral stability on the water.  The molds for the build are complex and must be split to free the hull during the build.  The video shows the process:

Puffin Boat Company is building five new Edendriver boats for model year 2023.  Each of these boats will be well equipped with Yamaha F70 outboard, hull color, console color, stainless side rails, Yeti 35 cooler seat, advanced electronics and audio, hydraulic steering, and designer Sunbrella cushion sets.  Here is a spy photo of the new helm and designer cushions of the first 2023 Edendriver rolling off the line... 

Sunbrella Cushion Set and Advanced Helm

Our crews will be running the Edendriver on the Penobscot River later this week, and she is available for immediate delivery.  The first one rolling off the line is available for $46,489 plus tax.  Trailer, delivery, and additional options will be extra.  This Edendriver highlight video will inspire you!

Once the Edendriver is fully tested, it will be on display in Belfast at our Don't Be Scared to Buy a Boat sales event running through Halloween.